Januari 31, 2008 
Let's talk about online stores today.
I mean, how difficult is it to create one?
You just find an affiliate program that uses full product feeds, install a script to translate the feed into a shop, download the feed onto your server, run it through the script and presto... you have an online store, with products updated in real time!
But wait...
...there must be an easier solution (there IS; it's below
). So, let's start at the best place: the beginning.What are the advantages of an online store?
- Your store is open 24/7, all year round.
- Since your are on the WORLD wide web, you have a wide range of customers
- It's so easy to set up
- An online store is dirt cheap (as I show you below)
- Cross promote products
- Pictures sell
And no, neither point mentioned above is THAT important, but it's the whole concept that does the trick.
I mean, I can write a whole page about, let's say, nutritional supplements, but when I'm done what better moment to present another page full of product images and inviting offers to my visitors?
THAT, my friend, is the sheer power of an online shop!
Furthermore, you're riding the wave of a rapidly increasing number of home shoppers, who like to buy or at least select or pre-select their future buys from the comfort of their own 'sofa'! And if they're that lazy, they'll soon hit the buy button too.
Which emphasizes the importance of a store being open 24/7. After all, you don't know when your potential customer is looking for your products, do you?
You shouldn't underestimate this. Here's a great example: If you come up with a great offer for Valentine or Mothersday and are able to send this to a list of married men, you WILL sell.
Why?
Simple, because 80% of these morons just don't have the time or are righout too lazy to buy a nice present! Hey, I'm one of them!
Making an offer at the right time can change you into their ministering angel. And if it's good, the'll come back, believe me!
Now, these are only 2 days in a whole year and yes, you have more competitors online but you can gain more customers there as well.
Just try to make a difference. Make your on store as unique as possible and easy to recall. If your customers can remember your store, they will go back to it the next time they shop online; they can even tell their friends about it.
Can you say 'Viral Marketing'? And if so, who's good at viral marketing? Yep, YOU!
So, how do you start an online shop?
Same ol' approach as usual.
If you're starting from scratch, first of all you want to identify the products that you're going to sell in your online shop. It's much easier to start with something you already know a lot about. Almost always these topics make your best Internet opportunities your best Internet opportunities.
Next, conduct a research to learn the more common products that people shop for online. You don't want to end up with a shop full of products that nobody wants, do you? Go to Ebay and see what's hot. Do the same at Amazon. And all those other hot spots. See if there's something you like and can write - video and audio about.
That's basically all there is to it. Because products and payments are delivered and handled for you.
Now, you may have your own products to promote.
That's great. Promote them. And don't show a store while doing so.
But... ... nothing is keeping you from showing the store on the download page, right? And since your customer already is in a buying mood, there's no better place than to offer her another product, right from your own online shop!
How's that?
If you do have a brick and mortar store and want to expand that online, then please feel free to download a copy of my ebook How Your Local Business, Service or Shop Can Increase Profits 100% By Simply Getting Online.
Now, how do we get that online store up and running?
Well, it's true what I said in the first paragraph. You can check for merchants providing a full product feed and display its content at your site.
I've been doing this personaly for a couple of years now and the absolute best resource to apply this kind of online store is Linda Buquet's 5 Star Affiliate Programs
Linda is very helpful, so if you have any questions, visit her forum to look for answers or to ask questions. But look for her top 50 affiliate programs and especially for this topic check out her Datafeed Directory.
Or ...
... you can install a script to create a shop with Clickbank or Ebay products.
Or ...
...you can join this special site that I just discovered: PopShops!
They have 28,000,000 items for your online store, because their database carries products from Commission Junction, LinkShare, Performics, LinkConnector, and ShareASale!
All you have to do is apply for the affiliate program at either Commission Junction, LinkShare, Performics, LinkConnector, and ShareASale, and then go back to PopShops to create your store.
Just think of the potential product niches you can discover from the more than 28,000,000 products, and 1300 vendors PopShops offer through their affiliate network. You can sell products for LinkShare, LinkConnector and ShareASale. There are thousand of name brand recognizable products that make selling EASY.
You can customize your shop and add (or remove) products as you wish. And you can not only build a store, you can also use snippets in the sidebar of your blog or as a replacement of Adsense. Think 'monetize website/blog'.
Want to see some examples? Visit Perfectly Shaped World or My Glorious Gifts.
Aren't they great?
You can sign up for either a free account or a paid one. Personally I took the $5 a month option, because it gives me more flexibility, but starting for free is a great option too.
How's that for a price for your online store? Huh?
Try it.
Oh yeah, I do have a small guide (20 pages) explaining the PopShops site. It's not mine, but I'm allowed to sell it to you. And that's what I'm doing right here.
If you're really interested, you can buy this guide from me for only $5. No guarantee, no sales page, no fluff and no filler. Just 5 bucks for good solid info.
Get your copy here.
Wishing you success,
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